Stress can sometimes be an inevitable and unavoidable part of modern life, with most people feeling overwhelmed, overworked and overextended in some capacity every day. With our hectic modern lives, it’s not surprising that both stress and anxiety have been steadily on the rise, and according to The Priory, between 2019 and 2021 there was a whopping 55% increase in people seeking help.
According to a survey carried out in the UK in 2020, the biggest cause of stress experienced in the UK was work related, followed by financial worry, which has only worsened in recent months as we all scramble to keep up with the rising cost of living and hold out for as long as possible until we turn the heating on.
What is stress?
There are two forms of stress. Acute stress and chronic stress. Acute stress is also known as our fight or flight response, which floods the body with hormones like cortisol and adrenaline giving us that shot of energy when we need it. This form of stress helps keep us safe and in short bursts can be beneficial for us. Chronic stress on the other hand can leave us feeling permanently wired and tired which overtime can cause symptoms to manifest, and trigger health conditions like thyroid disorders, ulcerative colitis and chronic fatigue syndrome.
Stress & the thyroid:
Stress can also be responsible for worsening a pre-existing thyroid condition and elevated levels of cortisol have even been found to decrease levels of both TSH and T4 which could lead to hypothyroidism for some people.
Too much cortisol may also shift the conversion of T4 to reverse T3 instead of T3 which can go on to cause symptoms like heart palpitations, weight gain and fatigue and lead to imbalances in the body.
Stress isn’t just something we experience via external factors though. When it comes to the thyroid, the process of converting the inactive thyroid hormone T4 into its active form T3, creates a certain amount of internal oxidative stress too.
The body then needs antioxidants to mop up the stress it’s generated and this is where the mineral selenium can help. Selenium is not only needed to make thyroid hormones but it’s also an antioxidant which makes it a key mineral for the thyroid. The recommended daily intake of selenium is between 60-75 micrograms and just one Brazil nut contains roughly 68 micrograms making it an excellent choice. Other food sources of selenium include fish, rice and shiitake mushrooms.
The relaxing mineral:
Feeling stressed or anxious can often go on to affect the choices we make around food leaving you feeling trapped in a vicious cycle. This is why adopting positive nutrition and lifestyle changes, even simple ones, to calm the nervous system are so important.
When it comes to diet, magnesium is at the top of the list. Magnesium is known as the relaxing mineral as it helps to relieve anxiety and relax our muscles. When we are stressed, our bodies soak up magnesium really quicky and a sign that you may be deficient in magnesium could include waking in the early hours of the morning and finding it difficult to get back off to sleep, cramping in your legs or feet, migraines or feeling anxious and depressed.
Dietary forms of magnesium can be found in green leafy vegetables (spinach, rocket, chard, kale), legumes, and fruit including dates and bananas. Supplementing with magnesium may also be beneficial to replenish your stores, but be mindful of which type of magnesium you choose as different types affect the body in different ways. Magnesium citrate draws water into the stools and may result in diarrhea (not good if stress already affects your gut and increases bowel movements). Magnesium malate is great for the cardiovascular system and is good if your muscles are feeling sore after a particularly hard work out, and magnesium glycinate is top of the list when it comes to a calming and relaxing for of magnesium which can also aid sleep.
Self-care practices:
With stress driving so many health conditions, it’s important to adopt healthy habits and make time for self-care practices that enhance your wellbeing. Meditation, gardening, listening to bird song or waves lapping at the beach and having fun can all help restore your central nervous system which is essential if you want to gain back control of your health.
If you are looking for support and guidance and are ready to make some dietary changes but haven’t known were to start, please get in touch. Dietary and lifestyle changes can have a profound effect on your health and asking for help can be the first step to getting your health back on track.
References:
metro.co.uk stress and anxiety cases are still on the rise despite the pandemic easing
Rongrong, C. Weiwei, Z, Lei, J. et al. (2020). ‘Association between thyroid function and serum cortisol in cortisol-producing adenoma patients’, Endocrine, 69(1). pp.196-203
